Per Mark Divver tweet - Caron out 3 weeks per Cassidy with upper body injury. Tradif and Bourque are the only P-Bruins forwards that have earned a look. Chiarelli has to be careful though if he wants the baby bs to make the playoffs when taking Bourque and Tardif out of that lineup.

Horton's agent said he's been ready for a long time . Horton will be available when camp opens.

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Thanks BSL

Hopefully I can use this one for a while. GOAT the original and KMCI no longer allow me to contribute.

Would be awesome if Camara cracked the lineup with Pev and Kell on 3rd line. He has skill, can check, score, work the PK and oh yeah he is not afraid to drop them. Has far more upside and skill than Caron(going backwards).

We will see what Spooner Bourque and Tardiff can offer this line for now. If not I would gladly take Rolston back with Kell and Pev for a half year at a 1M.

GOAT, I wonder if they'll even give Camara a look at camp. I thought I read something that suggested only Hamilton would be pulled out of jr.? Prepare for his OHL scoring numbers to drop off pretty quickly if Winnipeg keeps Schiefele, too.

They have a little over $5M to spend this year if you count Savard's LTIR money, so they might bring in Rolston on a 1 yr deal. He fits in the vacant third line spot (assuming Caron doesn't return). No idea if Chris Bourque would be any kind of third liner for the Bruins, but he'd be a waste on the fourth line. My gut feeling is that we'll see Paille move to the third line with Kelly and Peverley and someone like Lane MacDermid or Christian Hanson filling in on the fourth line. Not much thrill to wanting to see how either guy works out, is there?

I think the lines will be the familiar combinations - Krejci with Lucic and Horton, Bergeron with Marchand and Seguin, Kelly with Peverley and Paille, and Campbell with Thornton and Hanson. D pairings will be interesting. I wonder if they put Hamilton with Chara at some point. Exhibition maybe? But I also wonder what they'll do if Hamilton just isn't ready. Right now, it's as red says with Chara-Boychuk, Seidenberg-McQuaid?, Ference-Johnson?. An injured McQuaid means they need another body if it's not Hamilton, so it could be Exelby. That's not pretty, and it might not be that much better with Hamilton as he learns the ropes. Available UFAs are pretty sketchy, too. Strange to think, but the Bruins are most vulnerable on the defensive side with Rask stepping in as the uncontested starter, Khudobin becoming a full-time NHLer for the first time, and a paper thin D that is an injury to Chara or Seidenberg away from looking like an expansion team's D.

Paille never fit in on any line other than the 4th line, moving him up again would be a mistake...again. I would say if it has to be someone from Providence Chiarelli should go with Spooner. He has better hockey sense and is better defensively than Tardif or Bourque. Bourque is an assist machine but Spooner has a better shot.

I think both Paille and Campbell need to stay on the 4th line. They will be more effective there. If you're bringing up a skill guy from Providence (Spooner, Bourque) it really doesn't make any sense to play them on the 4th line. They don't check much and you are just wasting their talents. They need to be with some other skilled players, and whoever the 3rd line center is (Bergeron?) would probably really help Spooner or Bourque on the wing.

I said the same thing about Camper last year. He's very marginal at the NHL level so people assume he should play on the 4th line, but his talent is in the offensve zone or on the powerplay. Using him as a checking line winger is a waste. If Spooner, or Bourque, oe Sauve get called up I hope they are in a position to use their skills -- like play on a line with other skill players, trying to score, not a check, bang and clear line.

So there's not too many questions at the moment, but a couple exist. With McQuaid out and Hamilton likely in, there are the 6-7 D spots open for opening day. Johnson and Exelby maybe?

And there's the twlth forward, and a possible 13th in the press box - Bourque and Caron?

What lineups do you all have penciled in?

(did I mention I'm happy to be talking hockey again?)

Red ..forget Caron he has a terrible seaon with the P-Bruins ..dont know whats wrong with him but Bourque, Tardif or Spooner have a better chance to crack the line up ...by the way look out for Blake Wheeler in Wpg ..(30 goals ) ...Tyler Seguin should get 90 points minimum ...looking forward for Brad Marchand to have a great seaon as well ...

Stanley Cup to the BRUINS in 2011-2013 (with Khodo as our no.1 goalie)

Agree that the 4th-line remains together, with the open spot for 3rd line LW. I would think Bourque would make some sense, with Caron pushing once healthy. Not a great fit for Spooner, although could be some benefit playing with Kelly & Peverley; not your typical 3rd line grinders.

If the Bruins were set on promoting a fourth liner to the third line they could slide McDermaid in the 4th line. Also how could you call Bergeron a 3rd line center? He has to be considered 1b or 2. There's no other center on the team I'd rather have on the ice at any time.

It's possible they don't, but I doubt there's no way Boston doesn't keep Hamilton. I think he'll be with Chara on PP & paired with Sieds. Jonny B will stay with Chara for the regular season at least. I think you'll see Bourque given the best chance to stick. If Bourque doesn't work out? I think that Bookboy has it right. Paille moves up to the 3rd line with Kelly & Pev which certainly will have tons of speed with decent finish. Then you'll see a Macdermaid type come into to fill the 4th line.

So there's not too many questions at the moment, but a couple exist. With McQuaid out and Hamilton likely in, there are the 6-7 D spots open for opening day. Johnson and Exelby maybe?

And there's the twlth forward, and a possible 13th in the press box - Bourque and Caron?

What lineups do you all have penciled in?

(did I mention I'm happy to be talking hockey again?)

Red ..forget Caron he has a terrible seaon with the P-Bruins ..dont know whats wrong with him but Bourque, Tardif or Spooner have a better chance to crack the line up ...by the way look out for Blake Wheeler in Wpg ..(30 goals ) ...Tyler Seguin should get 90 points minimum ...looking forward for Brad Marchand to have a great seaon as well ...

Stanley Cup to the BRUINS in 2011-2013 (with Khodo as our no.1 goalie)

With you making these predictions, I bet if any of the players you mention actually come into this forum are crying right now, because they know you're predictions just ruined it for them.

He's not being challenged in the OHL and the Bs desperately need his skill set on the power play...

I'd much prefer him to Rich Peverley on the point with Chara...

Plus, if he struggles, you can just bury him like they did Seguin until he is ready...

Talent like that can't be sent back to the OHL, especially considering the Bs need what he has...

You can't keep him & sit him if you want him to develope. Yea he can sit out here & there & let him watch for a bit from the pressbox, but from what I can see & what I've been told is that he doesn't use his size & defensive coverage is lacking a lot at times. My only concern & a possibility as to why they may keep him in the OHL this season is that the B's just may not have the time to let him adjust to the NHL game. A 5 game winless streak could ruin your chances of making the play-offs in a 48 game season.

The Bruins just may have to bite the bullet & keep Dougie down for this year, because unless he's going to play top 4 minutes in the NHL. His development isn't going to improve much. And they just won't be able to afford to have the same patience they could if there were 82 games to be played.

That's what worries me, manny. Need implies they expect him to fill that need, and he might not be ready for that yet. I think you're right, though - he stays with Boston even if he doesn't play every night, and even though it burns an entry level contract year.

To clarify my earlier post, I wasn't exactly fantasizing about Paille on the 3rd line. I just see that as CJ's most likely move from what we know of him. The only Providence guys he's familiar with are Caron, MacDermid, and Whitfield. If the org. has soured on Caron after his lackluster AHL performance, then the other two are 4th liners and he won't trust any of the unproven guys on another line. If they agree with the idea that you want to keep the 4th line together, then Spooner wouldn't be a terrible fit. He'll have to earn it, though - they might feel Bourque or Tardif have done more to earn it, and they might prefer to keep Spooner playing a more offensive role. Of course, a line of Kelly, Peverley and Spooner would be a sort of offensive line in its own right - moreso than a traditional "shutdown" line.